Toe Dipper?

When you are faced with a body of water, do you plunge right in or are you a toe dipper? You know what I mean . . .

those who carefully test the temperature with a tiny dip of their toe and then slowly decide if the temperature is worth the joy of getting totally wet, swimming and splashing in the blue water. Toe dippers also are known to moan, groan, and grumble the entire time. Finding any excuse to turn around.

I can be that way in my walk of faith with God. God clearly leads me to take a step of faith and I slowly dip in one toe, cautiously checking out the situation. Then the doubts come; God, why me? I’m not qualified. Let’s do this later. I’m too busy. Then, I either turn around, or I grudgingly slowly go forward, sputtering and grumbling the whole time. Finally, I am totally engulfed in obedience, helpless and relying on God. Guess what? That’s when I find Jesus reaches down and I ride the waves with him, he always holds me up, supporting me. I feel the exuberant joy of obedience and making a significant difference in the life of others through God’s awesome power.

Recently I read about the life of Abraham and it made me mighty uncomfortable. In Genesis 12:1 “The Lord had said to Abram, “leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Vs 4a states . . . So Abram left. What? No excuses, bargaining, or doubts, he just trusted God and obeyed.

Later when God told him to circumcise all the males in his household, he did it that very day. Ouch! I would have definitely questioned that one.(Gen. 17:23). His life continued to be one of instant obedience and God commends him in Hebrews 11. This chapter is full of people who chose faith over fear. Hebrews 11:6 states; “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

My heart aches over the times God led me to share my faith or give food to that homeless girl and I didn’t obey. I pray someone else stepped up in obedience. Yet, my heart rejoices in the times I plunged right in and trusted God to catch me. You see, I have found that when I jump right into the pool of obedience I have no time to let doubts creep in. I reap the blessings of doing God’s bidding and the eternal significance of influencing someone for Christ. Also, when you take that first step of faith, the next step becomes easier, until finally you become a person whose life is characterized by that quality. So next time God asks you to share the gospel, teach that class, cry with the hurting, show mercy to the weak, jump right in, the waters fine!

Jeanne Kjellman is the mother of two grown children, the wife of 26 years to David, and the daughter of the King of Kings. She has a Master’s of Education and a minor in Bible. Although her first love is the Bible. She loves teaching, writing, and speaking to women.

7 Comments

Holly
on March 23, 2017 at 2:06 pm

Great article and perfect correlation with ‘toe dipping’. A good reminder to jump into God’s requests as Abram did and be a Follower not a fan. Loved it.

Great article, we’ll written Jeanne. I tend to be a jump right in kind of person but i can still be plagued with doubts and insecurities once I’m all in but God is faithful and always there to help keep me going for Him.

A toe dipper YEP! All my life. In nearly everything I did it was tip toe & toe dip. Over the last few years, however, as I continue my walk with God and invest myself in CORE (my life-giving honest girlfriends), He’s giving me the grace to not only stop “LIVING IN MY POCKETS” but to jump right in and ride the waves! Thank you Jeanne for your encouraging post. 🙂

When it comes to water in creek, ocean, or swimming pool, I learned as a child the best thing to do is jump in and get wet from head to toe. Then the rest is pure pleasure. Alas, I have not yet transferred that lesson to the spiritual realm. “Toe Dipper?” is a wonderful reminder and encouragement to do do!